Animal Instinct | Peaky Blinders [Thomas Shelby]

08 - Leo

Tommy gripped the sides of the table as an electric current flooded through his stomach and down to the tips of his fingers. It lasted for only a few seconds, but it was enough to give him the boost of energy he had been lacking since that morning.

Still mildly shaking, Tommy stepped away from the desk and started to get himself back in order, tucking things in and buckling up his trousers. He could feel Lizzie watching him as he searched the floor for his trench coat, unmoving from her sprawled position across the table.

"Will you stay?" She asked – the first words spoken between them that morning. When Tommy came banging on her door with a stack of bills in his hands and a desperate look in his eyes, she hadn't said a word before leading him to the kitchen, and now hearing her voice after the fact felt strange and unnerving.  

"C'mon, I could make you breakfast," she said again when he remained quiet. She still had her dress hiked up around her waist and she remained still, like she was waiting for him to return, despite the rush Tommy was in to button up his vest.

Tommy looked down at his watch, telling him it was already six o'clock. "I've got things to do."

Lizzie scoffed and scratched her nails across the wood grain of the table in thinly veiled irritation. "I thought you had the day off?"

"I never have the day off." The truth is, Tommy didn't want to have the day off. Even on a mild, Sunday afternoon when the business was quiet, there was bound to be something that needed to be done. Making small talk with Lizzie over breakfast was just about the last thing he wanted to do.

"I wish for once we could act like normal people," Lizzie said under her breath as she followed him towards the front door. She reached for the knob, but covered the door with her body, her eyes staring up at Tommy, half pleading.

Tommy wasn't oblivious, nor was he stupid. He knew how she felt about him and a part of him knew that it was wrong to play with her emotions. And every time he left, he told himself that it would be the last time. But their sessions were becoming more and more frequent. A part of it was out of sheer boredom, though it was mostly just his mind craving some kind of a distraction.

"That's all I'm good for, right?" She crossed her arms beneath her breasts and narrowed her dark eyes. "A meaningless fuck?"

He didn't have anything to say to that. He just stared back down at her, a silent war waging between them. After several seconds, Lizzie caved in and averted her eyes to the floor at her bare feet.

"Go on then," she spat, before stepping out of his way and practically slamming the door open for him.

Tommy didn't look back, but he could feel her eyes stabbing holes in the back of his head as he stalked down the block.

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As Tommy led Monaghan Boy down a narrow, cobblestone path, a cold wind rippled through him. The sky was clear, but the air felt cold and heavy, and Tommy shivered and tugged on the collar of his trench coat to cover his neck. Despite the numbness it left in his fingers, Tommy preferred the cold. It made the city less crowded and the icy bite shook his dormant mind awake.